Giant moonfish is an amazing creature that is found in the tropical waters of the Atlantic, as well as in the Indian and Pacific oceans, where it spawns. This huge representative of bony fish can reach three meters in length, and weigh almost one and a half tons. By the way, the giant's brain weighs only four grams!

What does a moonfish look like?

In Latin, the name of this fish is Mola mola, which means "millstone". And for good reason, since outwardly this laterally compressed, having a disproportionately short, motionless tail, a creature with high fins, in shape is more like a disk than an ordinary fish. The moonfish has a very thick and elastic skin covered with small tubercles of bone substance, and a tiny beak-shaped mouth, devoid of teeth. They are replaced by an enamel plate.

Giant character

The sunfish is a poor swimmer, spending most of its time lying on its side at the surface of the water, sleepily moving its high fins, which it alternately exposes to the air. This species is not able to resist a strong current, so this good-natured monster can often be seen drifting aimlessly without even trying to overcome it. True, such a statement applies only to adults, and the young swim, like ordinary fish.

Does she know the danger?

Obviously, the huge size and clumsy build have led to the fact that the mola-mola almost does not react to approaching ships, it can even be touched by a hook before this giant realizes to flee. True, it does not matter to her. The fish is easy to catch, at the same time it makes a grunt like a piglet, and rotates its eyes in all directions. But it is not worth catching it for food, since the meat of the moon fish is more like glue, and besides, it smells bad.

What does the moon fish eat

Zooplankton are found in the stomach of this species: small crustaceans, squids, leptocephalus larvae, jellyfish and many salps. It is believed that these large individuals can descend to great depths.

reproduction

By the way, this fish is the most prolific among all its relatives. She alone can produce up to three hundred million eggs. True, only a few survive from them. In newly born fry, the body has an elongated shape and normal fins. But as soon as they reach a centimeter size, they acquire a spherical shape and become covered with thorns. Babies are so unlike their parents that they have long been mistaken for separate view fish.

Why does the moonfish cause fear

Despite its huge size, the pier cannot harm a person. She is absolutely safe for him. But South African fishermen, for example, are afraid of meeting with a moonfish. They believe that this fish is a harbinger of trouble. And so, as soon as they see her, they immediately return home. True, this is understandable. After all, a fish that cannot swim is found close to the coast when it is nailed by an impending storm. So superstitious fear in this case is quite justified.

We may lose the good-natured giant!

The moon fish, the photo of which you can see in the article, has practically no enemies. Its thick skin and huge size are a reliable defense against predators. But still, occasionally sharks decide to attack this floating "millstone", biting off the fins of a helpless giant, which dooms the fish to inevitable death at the bottom of the ocean. In Japan, as in Taiwan, for example, the meat of this fish is considered a delicacy. And in southern latitudes although they don’t eat it, they consider it a pest that needs to be destroyed. So we can lose an amazing little-studied giant - the moonfish.

The moonfish differs from other fish species due to its unique appearance. If you look at this representative under water world, then it is difficult to say that this is a fish, and not some other animal. This is due to the fact that the body of the fish resembles the shape of a disc, which indicates its extraterrestrial origin. At least that's what many people think. The easiest way to compare this fish with a regular plate.

This fish also has a second name - mola, as it represents the genus and species of the same name (Mola mola). If the name is translated from Latin, then mola means "millstones", which have the shape of a large circle of a gray-blue hue. Therefore, the name of the fish corresponds to its appearance.

Some sources call this representative underwater world moon fish, and some just a floating head.

Despite different approaches in determining the name, this is the largest representative of bony fish. Its average weight reaches 1 thousand kg, although there are specimens whose weight reaches 2 thousand kg.

The fish is characterized by rather bizarre body shapes. Her body is round and flattened laterally, and on it you can see two dorsal and 2 anal fins. The tail part also has a unique structure called corns.

This fish is devoid of scales, but its body is covered with strong and reliable skin, which under certain conditions is able to change its shade. The skin is quite elastic and covered with a layer of mucus. This fish is not taken by a regular harpoon. Depending on the habitat, its color can vary from brown or brownish-gray to light gray-bluish.

Interesting Facts! Moon fish, unlike other types of fish, has a smaller number of vertebrae, which indicates a lack of bone tissue in the skeleton. In addition, the fish lacks the classic pelvis, ribs, and swim bladder.

And although the fish has a rather impressive size, its mouth is very small, resembling a parrot's beak. This illusion is created thanks to the teeth fused together.

Moon fish inhabits the waters of various continents located in warm and temperate latitudes. Some subspecies of this fish inhabit the waters below the equator, within Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Chile.

The average size of the moon-fish is limited to a height of 2.5 meters and a length of 2 meters, and the maximum dimensions are 4 and 3 meters, respectively. In 1996, a pier was caught, which weighed about 2 thousand 300 kg. To give you an idea, this corresponds to the weight and size of an adult white rhino.

These fish, despite their huge size, are not predators, and even more so, they are considered absolutely safe for humans. At the same time, they pose a danger to boats and ships if they move at high speed.

Interesting fact! The cement ship MV Goliath, which was heading to Sydney Harbor, collided with a 1,400 kg maul fish. It happened in 1998. The transport was moving at a speed of about 14 knots, but after the collision, its speed dropped to 10 knots. At the same time, one of the sections of the ship lost its protective paint, right down to the metal itself.

When the mole is still young, its body is covered with bone spikes, which disappear as the individuals grow older.

At first glance, this fish does not know how to swim at all, but this is not at all the case. Even so, she has fins that allow the fish, albeit slowly, but move in the water column. Her movements in the water occur in a circle, which is ineffective, but she does it.

The diet of the mole includes jellyfish and siphonophores - invertebrate living organisms. In addition, squids, small crustaceans, deep-sea eel larvae, etc. are its food source. Although there are plenty of jellyfish in the water column, they are not a nutritious object of subsistence.

It turns out that not so much is known about this fish, since even scientists do not know how long the moon fish can live. Some experts claim that fish live for about 20 years. Statements are based on data on the growth and development of fish, depending on habitat conditions. Despite this, according to some reports, females are able to live more than 100 years, and males up to 90 years. What information is reliable, no one knows.

The moon fish belongs to a separate sea ​​view, which spends its entire life in the open ocean, so little is known about it. The fish lives in the cold and southern waters of the oceans.

It is believed that the moon fish in warm time day is in warm layers of water, which are at depths of up to 50 meters, while the fish from time to time plunges to depths of more than 150 meters.

As far as is known, the moon fish is found everywhere in the tropical, subtropical and temperate latitudes of the oceans.

According to experts, the moon fish mainly feeds on jellyfish. As a rule, jellyfish are not very nutritious, and in order to grow to such a size and gain impressive weight, fish dilute their diet with mollusks, crustaceans, squid and small fish. To do this, she needs to regularly descend to the depth in search of more nutritious food components. Being at a depth for a long time, and at a considerable depth, the body temperature of the fish drops, which leads to a slowdown in many life processes. To raise their body temperature, fish rise to the upper layers of the water and bask in direct sunlight.

As mentioned earlier, this fish has not yet been fully studied, including its reproductive biology. Despite this, it is known that the moonfish is considered the most prolific among vertebrates on the planet.

Sexually mature individuals are able to lay up to 300 million eggs, and the larvae that emerge from the eggs are no larger than a pinhead in size. When born, the fry of the mole have a protective shell, in the form of a translucent star or snowflake.

To date, it is not known where and how the fish lays its eggs. Presumably, for spawning, the fish chooses the waters of the North and South Atlantic, the North and southern part Pacific Ocean as well as the Indian Ocean. For fish, it is important that there be a concentration of rotating ocean currents, in the form of gyres.

Interesting fact! The larvae of the fish of the moon that were born reach a length of no more than 2.5 mm. To reach sexual maturity, the fish will have to increase in size up to 60 million times.

The appearance of the fish of the moon surprises almost everyone, but most surprisingly, the puffer fish is the closest relative of the mole.

When individuals become sexually mature, for them there is practically no natural enemies, except for a man who is engaged in a very wasteful trade. The main share of the fish catch falls on the waters of the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. In these waters, up to 90% of the fish of the moon are caught, in relation to the entire catch. At the same time, fishing is practiced little, and it purely by chance gets into the nets.

Despite such facts, moon fish meat is considered a real delicacy in some Asian countries. As a rule, even the skin and cartilage of fish are used, especially in countries such as Japan and Thailand. In addition, fish is actively used as remedy, although it is only used ethnoscience. It is impossible to buy this fish in supermarkets or on the market, but you can try it in expensive restaurants where they know how to cook this fish properly.

A characteristic feature of meat is the repulsive smell of iodine. Despite this, the meat is rich in proteins and other useful components. Cutting this fish requires special professionalism, since a lethal dose of poison is located in the liver and bile ducts. With unprofessional cutting, if the liver and bile ducts are touched, the poison will get into the meat, and then into the food. As a rule, this leads to death.

Given the fact that the fish is of no commercial value, no measures are taken to preserve its numbers, although it is absolutely unfair, since everything is interconnected in nature. Fish become a victim of uncontrolled fishing, as well as other factors. It often gets caught in fishermen's nets as it often moves closer to the surface. The fish is quite slow due to the structural features of its body, which makes it especially vulnerable to a number of negative factors.

Scientists have calculated that up to 340,000 moonfish are caught annually within the waters of South Africa. Experts have calculated that moon fish makes up about 29% of the total fish catch, which clearly exceeds the need for it.

In the waters of Japan and Taiwan, purposeful fishing of mole mole is carried out. This is due to the fact that fishermen supply this fish to local restaurants as a culinary delicacy.

Based on some calculations, we can safely say that the populations of this fish in some water areas are reduced by up to 80%. In this regard, it is not difficult to assume that the world stocks of this fish are also declining. At the same time, it is considered that the level of reduction reaches about 30%. This is especially true in relation to the subsequent 3rd generations, that is, in the next 25 years. Little is known about the populations of other subspecies, such as Mola's tecata and Ramsayi's Mola, but it is not hard to imagine that they will suffer the same fate.

It is even difficult to assume that even those species of fish that do not differ in commercial value suffer from unreasonable human activity. In this case, it is not difficult to imagine the scale of the catch valuable breeds fish, or at least those that are of commercial interest. It is not surprising that man has already come to the point where you just need to ban fishing on a global scale. If this is not done, you will simply have to forget about such a product as fish, which is fraught with serious problems. negative consequences for a person. It seems that humanity is waiting for the stage when fish will have to be grown artificially, in specially designated water areas. The reason for this may be the fact that water resources are polluted at a high rate, which also leads to a decrease in fish stocks on a global scale.

The moon fish is an amazing creature, but for some reason it has been studied very poorly and it is not known what role this amazing creature plays in the life of all nature and man in particular. This suggests that even in the 3rd millennium there is a lot of unknown on Earth, which makes it difficult to have a complete picture of life on our Planet.

The heaviest modern bone fish, living in ocean waters, is the Common moon-fish, a representative of the family of the same-named moon-fish. In some countries, it is also called the sun fish or head fish.

Sunfish very rarely gather in groups of more than two individuals.

Habitat geography

The moon fish lives in the waters of all oceans of tropical and subtropical latitudes; for the time of spawning, fish migrate to tropical waters. So, in the east of the Pacific Ocean, this fish lives from Canada to southern regions Peru and Chile, In the Indian Ocean, fish can be found everywhere, up to the Red Sea. In the Atlantic Ocean, they live from the Scandinavian Peninsula to South Africa. They are also found near the Kuril Islands and in the Sea of ​​Japan.

Meet these amazing fish possible at a depth of up to 850 meters. According to scientists, almost 80% of the time these fish are at a depth of about 200 meters, and the rest of the time, they rise to a depth of 10 meters.


Moonfish in the company of divers.
Moon fish in the water column.
Moon fish in the water column.

Appearance

Even looking at the photo of the moon fish, it is difficult to imagine how unusual it looks. Their body is quite short, high and flattened from the sides - this physique gives it an unusual look, making it look like a disk. They do not have a tail fin, and the pelvic girdle is reduced. Instead of the caudal fin and them, there is a "pseudo-tail" - a cartilaginous plate formed by the spinal and cartilaginous fin. The ventral and caudal fins are absent.

The mouth of the moon fish ends in a beak formed by fused teeth. The scales of the fish are absent, and the skin is covered with cat growths and mucus. The color of adult moonfish can be from brown to gray-silver with a variegated pattern - it all depends on the habitat. The average length of adults is about 1.8 m, height can reach 3 m, and weight varies from 250 to 1600 kg.


Moonfish: front view.
A fairly large specimen of the moon fish.
The moon fish is also called the sun fish.

Nutrition and behavior

The basis of the diet of sun fish is: oceanic plankton, salps, ctenophores and jellyfish, in addition, they can eat small fish and crustaceans, eel larvae, sponges, starfish, squid, since this food is not very high in calories, the fish is forced to absorb it in huge sizes. This diet confirms that these fish can feed both on the surface and at depth.

As a rule, these fish live alone, less often in pairs. They are not considered good swimmers because they maximum speed a little over 3 km/h. Moonfish don't live in too warm water If the temperature rises to 12°C, then the fish lose their orientation in space and may even die.

The natural enemies of the moonfish are sea lions, killer whales, and sharks.


Close-up of the head of a moon fish.
Sunfish among smaller fish.
Old fish-moon.

reproduction

The head fish is the most prolific creature in the ocean - in one spawning, the female is capable of spawning about 300 million eggs, about 0.1 cm in diameter. Newborn fry weigh about 0.01 grams and look like blowfish, however time will pass and the size of the fish will increase 60 million times - only these fish have such a huge ratio from birth to adulthood.

The average life expectancy of these fish in captivity is about 10 years. vivo 16-23 years old.


Giant moonfish.
Moon fish in the aquarium.
Moonfish at the surface of the water.
  1. The mass of the brain of this oceanic giant is 4 grams.
  2. If you put all the eggs of the moon fish in a chain, then its length will be about 30 km.
  3. There is a toxin in the body of these fish, so it is undesirable to eat it, and if you eat caviar, milk or liver, this can be fatal.
  4. Moonfish are often kept in captivity, but sometimes these fish die by crashing against the walls of the aquarium.
  5. The spinal cord of the sunfish is shorter than the head length, not more than 15 mm.

Moon fish - a species of the genus of moon fish of the family of the same name. These are the heaviest of modern bony fish. Reach a length of three meters. The Guinness Book of Records provides data on an individual caught on September 18, 1908 near Sydney, the length of which was 4.26 m and a mass of 2235 kg.

Ordinary moon fish live in tropical and temperate waters of all oceans. They are found in the pelagic zone at a depth of up to 844 m. They have a laterally compressed disc-shaped body. The dorsal and anal fins are shifted back and form a tail plate. The skin is devoid of scales. The teeth are fused into a "beak". Pelvic fins are absent. The coloration is bluish or grayish-brown. They feed mainly on jellyfish and other pelagic invertebrates.

This is the most prolific species among vertebrates, females ordinary moons fish produce up to 300,000,000 eggs at a time. The fry of this species resemble miniature pufferfish, they have large pectoral fins, a caudal fin and spines that disappear in adulthood. Adult moonfish are quite vulnerable. They are being hunted sea ​​lions, killer whales and sharks. In some countries, such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan, their meat is considered a delicacy. In EU countries, there is a ban on the sale of products from fish of the moonfish family.

In fact, the moon fish is completely harmless, because it feeds on jellyfish, ctenophores, small fish, crustaceans and other zooplankton, which, unfortunately, turned out to be next to it. This fish does not know how to swiftly maneuver and swim quickly in pursuit of prey, but only sucks everything edible that is nearby into its mouth-beak.

Because of its rounded outlines, in many languages ​​of the world this unusual creature is called the fish of the moon, or the fish of the sun, because of the habit of basking in the sun, swimming on the surface. The translation of the German name means “floating head”, the Polish one means “lonely head”, the Chinese call this fish “upside down car”. In Latin, the most numerous genus of these fish is called mola, which means "millstone". The similar name of the fish was earned not only by the shape of the body, but also by the gray, rough skin.

Moon fish belong to the order Pufferfish, which includes pufferfish and urchin fish, with which they have much in common. First of all, these are four fused front teeth that form a characteristic non-closing beak, which gave the Latin name to the order - Tetraodontiformes (four-toothed). The family of moon-shaped, or moon-fish, (Molidae) is united unusual view these millstone-like animals. One gets the impression that at the dawn of evolution, someone bit off the back of the fish, just behind the dorsal and anal fins, and they survived and gave birth to an equally strange offspring. Indeed, representatives of this family of vertebrae have fewer vertebrae than others. bony fish, for example, in the species mola mola - there are only 16 of them, the pelvic girdle is completely reduced, the caudal fin is absent, and instead of it there is a tuberous pseudo-tail.

Zooplankton serves as food for moon fish. This is confirmed by studies of the stomachs of fish, in which crustaceans, small squids, leptocephals, ctenophores and even jellyfish were found. Scientists suggest that the moonfish can reach a fairly large depth.

When moving, all moon fish use very long and narrow anal and dorsal fins, waving them like a bird's wings, while small pectoral fins serve as stabilizers. To steer, fish spit a strong jet of water from their mouths or gills. Despite the love to bask in the sun, moon fish live at a respectable depth of several hundred, and sometimes thousands of meters.

Moonfish are reported to be able to produce sounds by rubbing their pharyngeal teeth, which are long and claw-like.

It is believed that the lifespan of the moonfish can be about a hundred years, but much is still unknown about these amazing creatures, because they do not get along well in aquariums.

The moon fish is found in tropical and temperate waters of all oceans. In the eastern Pacific, these fish are distributed from Canada ( British Columbia) to the south of Peru and Chile, in the Indo-Pacific region - throughout the Indian Ocean, including the Red Sea, and further from Russia and Japan to Australia, New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands. In the eastern Atlantic, they are found from Scandinavia to South Africa, occasionally entering the Baltic, North and mediterranean sea. In the eastern Atlantic, sunfish can be found from the coast of Newfoundland to southern Argentina, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Genetic differences between individuals living in the northern and southern hemispheres are minimal.

In spring and summer, the population of common moonfish in the northwestern Atlantic is estimated at 18,000 individuals. Large concentrations of small fish up to 1 m long are observed in coastal waters. In the Irish and Celtic Seas, 68 individuals of this species were noted in 2003-2005, the estimated population density was 0.98 individuals per 100 km².

Usually these fish are caught at temperatures above 10 °C. Long stay temperatures of 12°C and below can cause them to become disoriented and sudden death. Ordinary moonfish are often found in the surface layers of the open ocean; it was believed that this fish swims on its side, but there is a version that this method of movement is typical for sick individuals. It is also possible that in this way the fish warm up the body before diving into cold water layers.

Large size and thick skin make adult moon fish invulnerable to small predators however, juveniles may become prey for tunas and dolphins. Large fish are attacked, and sharks. In Monterey Bay, sea lions have been seen biting off the fins of moon fish and pushing them to the surface of the water. Probably, with the help of such actions, mammals manage to bite through the thick skin of fish. Sometimes, having tossed the fish to the moon several times, the sea lions refused their prey, and it helplessly sank to the bottom, where it was eaten by starfish.

moonfish on Latin sounds like Mola mola, popularly called the "sun" or "head". The word mola is translated as "millstone". This is one of the largest bone representatives of the aquatic world from all existing and known species in the world. One of the individuals that was caught in 1908 is even listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Its weight was 2235 kilograms, length - 3.1 meters, and from the lower to the upper fin - 4.26 meters. Habitat geography

Range and habitat

The sunfish is found in tropical and temperate waters of all oceans. In the eastern Pacific, these fish are distributed from Canada (British Columbia) to the south of Peru and Chile, in the Indo-Pacific region - throughout the Indian Ocean, including the Red Sea, and further from Russia and Japan to Australia, New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands. In the eastern Atlantic, they are found from Scandinavia to South Africa, occasionally entering the Baltic, North and Mediterranean seas. In the western Atlantic, sunfish can be found from the coast of Newfoundland to southern Argentina, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Genetic differences between individuals living in the northern and southern hemispheres are minimal.

In spring and summer, the population of common moonfish in the northwestern Atlantic is estimated at 18,000 individuals. In coastal waters, large concentrations of small fish up to 1 m long are observed. In the Irish and Celtic Seas, 68 individuals of this species were recorded in 2003-2005, the estimated population density was 0.98 individuals per 100 km².

These pelagic fish are found at depths of up to 844 m. Most of the time adults spend in the epipelagic and mesopelagic zones at depths of more than 200 m. water column at a depth of up to 200 m.

Usually these fish are caught at temperatures above 10 °C. Prolonged exposure to temperatures of 12°C or below can cause them to become disoriented and die suddenly. Ordinary moonfish are often found in the surface layers of the open ocean; it was believed that this fish swims on its side, but there is a version that this method of movement is typical for sick individuals. It is also possible that in this way the fish warm up the body before diving into cold water layers.

Description

The moonfish (lat. mola-mola) is one of the most amazing sea creatures. Its Latin name translates as "millstone", which is quite consistent with the size and shape of this fish, which resembles a huge disc flattened on the sides. Rear end the body seems to be chopped off and ends in a wavy edge, which is a modified fixed caudal fin.

It is the lack of a tail section that makes the fish so slow. The dorsal and anal fins are narrow and high, opposing each other and set far back. The head ends in a very small mouth in the shape of a parrot's beak. Jaws without teeth. The teeth are replaced by a solid enamel plate. The skin of the moon-fish is covered with small bony tubercles. The skin is unusually thick, strong and elastic - they say that even the skin of the ship cannot withstand this and the paint peels off it. The color of the moon-fish is dark gray or brown, with light spots irregular shape and different sizes.

In September last year, a 1,100 kg moonfish was caught in the Kuril Islands. The photo of this individual was on all news channels. They caught it near the island of Iturup. At first, the fishermen were delighted with such a chic catch, but due to inexperience they could not drag her into the trawler. While she was being towed for three days, she became rotten. As a result, having arrived on land, the fishermen gave the delicacy to the bears.

Lifestyle

Ordinary moon-fish lead, as a rule, a solitary lifestyle, but sometimes they are found in pairs, and in places of accumulation of animal cleaners they can gather in a group.

You can often see the moon-fish lying on its side on the surface of the water. From time to time, its fins show up on the surface - sometimes they are mistaken for shark dorsal fins. They can be distinguished by the nature of the movement of the fins. Sharks, like most fish, swim by swinging their tail fin from side to side. In this case, the dorsal fin remains motionless. Moonfish move their dorsal and anal fins like oars. Larvae and fry of this species swim like ordinary fish.

Previously, it was believed that the moon-fish is a poor swimmer, unable to overcome a strong current, so it was attributed to the oceanic macroplankton. However, targeted observations have shown that the moon-fish can swim 26 km per day, and the maximum swimming speed reaches 3.28 km / h.

Sometimes sailors from the ship can watch how this harmless "monster" sways languidly on the surface of the water. But the fry and young of the moonfish swim as briskly as the rest of the inhabitants of the underwater kingdom. Adults spend most of their time lying on their side at the bottom.

In captivity, these fish are extremely rare, because they require large and deep aquariums, moreover, they often get hurt on the walls of containers. Now the aquariums of Osaka, Monterey, Barcelona, ​​Lisbon and Valencia can boast of having these fish in their collection. Moon-fish need protection as amazing and still little-studied representatives of the aquatic fauna.

Nutrition

Moon-fish feed on small prey, and as inactive as they are. They feed on jellyfish, ctenophores, salps, small crustaceans and squids. Moreover, they look for food both on the surface of the water and in depth. They can tear into pieces an animal that does not fit in their small mouth, and grind solid food with their pharyngeal teeth. According to some evidence, moonfish meat can be poisonous, probably due to eating poisonous jellyfish and the accumulation of toxins in the muscles of the fish.

reproduction

The head fish is the most prolific creature in the ocean - in one spawning, the female is capable of spawning about 300 million eggs, about 0.1 cm in diameter. Newborn fry weigh about 0.01 grams and look like pufferfish, but time will pass and the size of the fish will increase in 60 million times - only these fish have such a huge ratio from birth to adulthood.

The average life expectancy of these fish in captivity is about 10 years, in natural conditions 16-23 years.

The larvae that have hatched from the eggs resemble pufferfish, then wide bone plates appear on the body of the grown larvae, which gradually turn into sharp long spikes, which then also disappear. The caudal fin and swim bladder also gradually disappear, and the teeth merge into a single plate. Despite the high fecundity, the number of this species is small and continues to decline. Except natural enemies that prey on larvae and adults, the moonfish population is threatened by humans: in many Asian countries they are considered curative and their large-scale capture is carried out, although there is evidence that the meat of these fish contains toxins, like hedgehogs and pufferfish, and in internal organs have the poison tetrodotoxin, like puffer fish.

Enemies

Despite their large size, moonfish have many enemies. Tunas can attack young individuals, killer whales and sharks like to hunt adults. There are cases when sea lions played with these fish, biting off their fins and tossing their bodies above the water. Men in different parts world refer to the moon-fish in different ways. In Taiwan and Japan, they are considered the greatest delicacy (along with related species puffer fish) and eat all parts of the body. IN European countries fishing for these species is prohibited. And in the tropics, moon fish are not eaten, but they are not protected either. Here they are considered pests that steal bait from hooks, so the fishermen cut off the fins of the caught individuals and doom them to a slow painful death in the abyss of the ocean.

Human interaction

Despite their impressive size, ordinary moon-fish do not pose a danger to humans. There were cases when fish that jumped out of the water fell into boats and knocked people down. Their habitats attract divers, they get used to the presence of a person. Encounters with moonfish are common in some regions. These collisions can lead to damage to the hulls of ships, and sometimes the bodies of these fish get stuck in the blades of large vessels (which can also provoke an accident).

These fish have tasteless flabby meat. However, in Taiwan and Japan, it is considered a delicacy, and in some regions of the Western Pacific and the South Atlantic, they are a specialized fishery. All parts of fish are used for food, including fins and internal organs. In addition, they are in demand in the traditional Chinese medicine. Due to the likely toxin content, the sale of moonfish products is prohibited in Europe. In Russia, under the trade name "fish-moon" they sell vomer fish.

Up to 30% of the catch of drift-net gillnets used for hunting swordfish off the coast of California are moonfish. In the Mediterranean Sea, the by-catch rate of this species is even higher, reaching 71–90%. In some places, fishermen cut off the fins of these fish, believing them to be useless bait thieves. Floating on the surface of the water plastic bags resemble jellyfish, the main food of the moon-fish. After swallowing garbage, fish can die from suffocation or starvation, as plastic clogs their stomach.

Much in the biology of common moonfish remains unclear, their populations are counted from the air, migrations are studied using tagging, and genetic research fabrics. Occasionally moonfish are found on the shore.

  1. The mass of the brain of this oceanic giant is 4 grams.
  2. If you put all the eggs of the moon fish in a chain, then its length will be about 30 km.
  3. There is a toxin in the body of these fish, so it is undesirable to eat it, and if you eat caviar, milk or liver, this can be fatal.
  4. Moonfish are often kept in captivity, but sometimes these fish die by crashing against the walls of the aquarium.
  5. The spinal cord of the sunfish is shorter than the head length, not more than 15 mm.
  6. The female fish lays about 300 million eggs at a time, while about future fate don't worry about your kids at all. That is why this species has a very low survival rate of offspring.
  7. Sunfish are very difficult to keep in an aquarium. All individuals have a very small brain when compared to body size. The fish practically does not react to the threat in any way, it is inactive and clumsy. More daring representatives of the depths, sharks and other predators often feast on it.

Video

Sources

    https://ianimal.ru/topics/ryba-luna https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_moon-fish